Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, who this fall claimed a USA Gymnastics doctor repeatedly molested her, filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the company made her sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of a financial settlement a year earlier, NBC News reported.
Maroney said she needed the settlement to pay for psychological treatment after being abused by Dr. Larry Nassar, and her attorney called the confidentiality agreement "an immoral and illegal attempt to silence a victim of child sexual abuse."
USA Gymnastics had a two-decade relationship with Nassar until it quietly fired him after getting complaints from athletes in June 2015. Nassar has since pleaded guilty to molesting girls under his treatment. Fellow Olympians Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas also accused him of abuse.
Maroney's lawyer is seeking to have her released from the non-disclosure, alleging that USA Gymnastics insisted on the agreement so "it could further conceal and shield from public scrutiny, outside investigation, and law enforcement, the true nature of Nassar's horrific sexual abuse of minors."
